The basics of learning your firearms

In today’s world, you see more and more people purchasing firearms out of the uncertainty that they may someday need it. That being said, you also see people taking training courses, spending time at the gun range, and overall training to become totally fluent in firearms; as the saying goes “it is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war”. However, firearms training is something that can frighten a lot of people, these are weapons and the mishandling of these items can result in injuries or fatalities. So what do you need to know before heading out to the range?

The team at Core Vision Training has broken down the top tips to craft a beginner’s guide to firearms training, covering the ins and outs.

Let’s dive in.

Beginner’s Guide To Firearms Training Table of Contents

Choosing a Gun
Essential Items to Bring to the Range
Gun Safety
Dry Fire Training

Choosing a Firearm

One of the most exciting aspects of diving into the world of guns is choosing your first firearm. Chances are, it will be a handgun, as most first time buyers are looking for something for their concealed carry or personal and home defense, rather than the AK or AR style rifles. But these are all things to consider, are you looking for a gun to carry every single day? Or are you looking for some other type of firearm like a hunting rifle?

Choosing your first firearm is not as simple as just buying the first one you see. There are a few factors to consider such as:

Size and Weight: This is especially important if you are looking for an everyday carry gun, you have to consider the size and weight. If you want it to be concealed, you don’t want a massive handgun, but if you are open carrying, then maybe a bit bigger is more feasible. You also have to consider the weight, as you don’t want something that is weighing your holster down.
Caliber and Ammo: The caliber is crucial if you are looking for something for personal defense. You may not want something as small as a .22, and the typical carry guns fall between 9mm and .380. However the prices are also something to consider, 9mm is typically cheaper than .380, so if you are frequently training, you may not want to be dumping tons of money into ammo.
Attachment Friendliness: There are a lot of different attachments available for firearms, such as suppressors, a variety of optics, and so on. If this is something that you are interested in, consider an attachment friendly firearm.

What Items Do You Need for the Range?

After choosing a firearm, it is going to be useless if you don’t know how to use it, so get to the range and practice! You will want to read the gun range rules ahead of time, or call before you go, as some ranges do not allow specific calibers, select firing systems, they will only let you fire so many rounds, and so on. There also is a checklist you should go through before heading to the range. Here are a few essential gun range items:

Shooting Glasses: One of the most important pieces of gear to have as a firearms enthusiast is a solid pair of shooting glasses. These are not going to be bulletproof, but they will protect your eyes from dirt, dust, shell casings, and other debris. If you are on an outdoor range, a good pair of tactical sunglasses could be a good investment.
Ear Protection: Guns are loud, and if you are firing guns on a range all day with no ear protection, you can say goodbye to your hearing. Most ranges require you to have ear protection as well.
Extra Ammo and a Range Bag: Obviously you want to have enough ammo for the gun range, but you also want a bag or backpack to keep everything in.

Gun Safety Tips

Next on the list of the beginner’s guide to firearms, is gun safety. You absolutely always need to make safety the top priority, as mishandling can be a life or death situation. You need to make sure you are always practicing proper gun safety. Here are a few tips for gun safety:

Always Act as if the Gun is Loaded: Treat the gun as if it is loaded with a round in the chamber at all times. The last thing you want is to pull the trigger and have a misfire.
Keep Your Finger off the Trigger Until it is Properly Aimed: Don’t put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to shoot, meaning your barrel is pointed at the target.
Never “Barrel Sweep” Anyone: What we mean by this is to never let your barrel “sweep” across anyone. For example if you are practicing close quarters training, don’t let your barrel cross any of your companions. The same goes for when you are on a standard gun range.
Always Clear Your Gun: Even if the gun appears to be empty, always pull the charging handle or slide back to make sure there is nothing lodged in there before packing things up.

Dry Fire Training

If going to the gun range with live rounds is something that you are not ready to do yet, there is always dry fire training, or training with an empty firearm. Now, this is something a lot of people do even as experienced shooters, just to practice maneuvering, handling, speed, and so on. The problem is, if you have a truly empty firearm, you will have to manually reset the trigger every time, which is why we recommend products from Mantis.

Something like the Blackbeard (which is for AR style rifles) is great for dry fire training as it allows you to implement an auto reset trigger so you can practice follow up shots.

Check out our full review of the BlackbeardX here!

Core Vision Training

Sometimes just going to the range is not enough, which is where tactical training comes into play. Tactical training is largely important, as it helps to get you used to your gear. Think about it, your firearm is going to be a foreign object to you if you are placed in a situation where you need it, but have never fired it. If you do not train with it and familiarize yourself with your gear, they will feel like foreign objects when it comes time to use them.

If you are looking for other training courses to get used to your firearms, then check out Core Vision Training. From long range to close quarters, day or night, Core Vision Training has it all. In order to be a well rounded individual that knows how to survive and win in multiple different environments, scenarios, and more, then these courses could be your new best friends.

Beginner’s Guide to Firearms Training Wrap Up

Overall, stepping into the realm of firearms training can be daunting. However, following these steps can make it a whole lot easier! Hit the range, and enjoy.

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